by Louise Hare
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon
Goodreads: London, 1936. Lena Aldridge wonders if life has passed her by. The dazzling theatre career she hoped for hasn't worked out. Instead, she's stuck singing in a sticky-floored basement club in Soho, and her married lover has just left her. But Lena has always had a complicated life, one shrouded in mystery as a mixed-race girl passing for white in a city unforgiving of her true racial heritage.
She's feeling utterly hopeless until a stranger offers her the chance of a lifetime: a starring role on Broadway and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary bound for New York. After a murder at the club, the timing couldn't be better, and Lena jumps at the chance to escape England. But death follows her onboard when an obscenely wealthy family draws her into their fold just as one among them is killed in a chillingly familiar way. As Lena navigates the Abernathy's increasingly bizarre family dynamic, she realizes that her greatest performance won't be for an audience, but for her life.
Kritters Thoughts: Lena Aldridge is a singer who used to have her father by her side until he passed away and without him her life has completely changed. She is currently performing in a semi sketchy club that is owned by her friend's husband when a chance encounter with someone who can fulfill her dreams of performing on Broadway enters her life. After a "bit" of drama in the club she takes the job and hops on the Queen Mary to head to the US. This is where the story really begins.
This book reminded me of the Agatha Christie book that was just made into a movie - Death on the Nile; people stuck on a boat and one by one they are dying and who is the killer. I often judge the mystery books by the resolution and while I won't spoil, I was pleased by the culprit, it came together at the end, but I didn't guess too early. Their reason for the actions was plausible and I liked the twists and turns to get there.
After saying what I did like, I have to say I don't know if it was me or my timing of when I read this book or the book itself, but I felt as though the story's pacing was so slow and just kind of went on and on. There were as an enormous cast of characters where half were related and it was confusing and hard to get engrossed in the book. I also know my reading time is limited these days and to capture my attention beyond the things that I need to do right now is difficult, so I wonder if I read this at a different time would I react the same way. I would like to read another book by this author and decide if it is me or the writing.
Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more
Ebook 2022 Challenge: 51 out of 100
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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